II Kings 17 Hoshea is the last king of Israel.  He reigned for 9 years, but was paying tribute to the king of Assyria.  When he looked to Egypt for help and stopped paying the tribute, the king of Assyria put him in prison, invaded the land and captured Samaria.  After carrying the people of Israel away, the king of Assyria repopulated the region with men from Babylon, Cuthah, aver, Haath and Sephar-vaim.  They came in and settled in the land, bringing their idols with them.  When God sent lions into the land, the foreigners decided they needed to know how to treat the god of the land.. so the king of Assyria sent a priest to teach them "how they should fear the Lord."  Unfortunately, all they did was add worship of Adonai to the rest of their idols.  

This passage shows us how the people of Samaria became the despised Samaritans of Jesus' day.  Some Jews had probably been left behind and only the prominent ones taken by the king of Assyria.  Whether any of those Jews stayed separate from the foreign culture that ruled.. we do not know. 

The most important part of this chapter is the commentary written in verses 7-23 which plainly and perhaps painfully spells out the reason that Israel was "removed" from the Lord's sight.  The writer starts out with this powerful statement, "Now this came about, because the sons of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up from the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods."  From the beginning, Israel disobeyed and rebelled agains the same God who had delivered them from slavery and given them their own land. 

They "walked in the customs of the nations whom the Lord had driven out before" them. 

They "did things secretly which were not right, against the Lord their God."

They built "high places" everywhere. 

They set up "sacred pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree."

They "provoked the Lord" with their evil. 

They would not heed the warnings of the prophets. 

They rejected God's commands and statutes.

They "stiffened their neck like their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God."

Idolatry, disobedience, occult practices, child sacrifices... every evil that flagrantly violated the Lord's commandments - brought about the judgement that He had warned them about. 

Our God, Holy and Righteous, we praise Your Name.  Father,  You do what You say You will do.  Disobedience will result in discipline. Sin will result in death.  But, faith and repentance will result in forgiveness.  Jesus is the Redeemer who can set us free from the dominion of darkness.  O Father of our Lord Jesus, we intercede for our stiff-necked, disobedient, and idolatrous generation. Grant Your children the power of Your Spirit to speak out the Good News of Salvation in Christ Jesus, that many more will have ears to hear and will enter the Kingdom of Your Beloved Son. Revive us, Lord..by Your Divine Presence and power today.  We pray in the Name of Jesus, who tells us to ask in His name and we will receive it..  Amen.